The best rendering of the passage is perhaps as follows: “But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen etc. 1 Samuel 13:21, whenever there was bluntness of edge to their shares and coulters and prong-forks and axes, and to point their goads.” Coulters and mattocks were cutting instruments of the type of the share. read more
This seems to be mentioned here, in anticipation of the narrative in the next chapter, to enhance the victory gained, through God’s help 1 Samuel 14:23, by the comparatively unarmed Israelites over their enemies. What with occasional skirmishes with the Philistines, the necessity of using their arms for domestic purposes, accidental losses, and the ordinary wear and tear, coupled with the impossibility of renewing their arms from the want of smiths and forges, the people that were with Saul and... read more
1 Samuel 13:20-21 . The Israelites went down to the Philistines Not to the country of the Philistines, for that was too far from many parts of the land of Israel; but to their garrisons, which they held among them even after Samuel had driven the main body of them out of the country. In these, it seems, the Philistines kept all the smiths, and there they allowed them to exercise their art for the uses following. Yet they had a file, &c. They were allowed some proper instruments and... read more
1 Samuel 13:22. There was neither sword nor spear This, it seems, must be restrained to the six hundred that were with Saul and Jonathan; for there were, no doubt, a considerable number of swords and spears among the Israelites, but they generally hid them, as now they did their persons, from the Philistines. And the Philistines had not yet attained to so great a power over them as wholly to disarm them, but thought it sufficient to prevent the making of new arms, knowing that the old ones... read more
War against the Philistines (13:15-14:46)After Samuel left Gilgal, Saul took his troops and joined with the other section of the Israelite army, which was under Jonathan. Together they prepared for the battle against the Philistines (15-18). The Philistines were confident of victory, partly because for many years they had so controlled metal-working activities in the area that the Israelites owned hardly any weapons. This enabled the Philistines to raid throughout Israel without fear of strong... read more
coulter . Anglo-Saxon = a cutter; hence, a plough-share. mattock = a kind of pickaxe, with broad instead of pointed ends. read more
with Saul = with those who were with Saul and Jonathan: a picked force. read more
1 Samuel 13:20. All the Israelites went down to the Philistines— That is, all the men of Israel went to such garrisons of the Philistines as were placed in their land; for we are not to suppose, that the Israelites went, for this purpose, into the country of the Philistines. This particular appears to have been mentioned to shew the interposition of God, and to magnify the greatness of the victory in consequence. See Judges 5:8; Judges 20:15-16. read more
21. Yet they had a file—as a kind of privilege, for the purpose of sharpening sundry smaller utensils of husbandry. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 13:22
There was neither sword, etc. Armed only with clubs and their farming implements, it is no wonder that the people were afraid of fighting the Philistines, who, as we gather from the description of Goliath's armour, were clad in mail; nor is it surprising that they despised and neglected Saul and his few men, whom probably they regarded as an unarmed mob of rustics. The Ammonites probably were far less efficiently armed than the Philistines, who, as commanding the sea coast, could import... read more